Su Tseng-chang

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Su Tseng-chang
蘇貞昌
Su Tseng-chang

In office
January 25, 2006 – May 21, 2007
Preceded by Frank Hsieh
Succeeded by Chang Chun-hsiung

Born July 28, 1947 (1947-07-28) (age 60)
Pingtung, Taiwan
Nationality Flag of the Republic of China Republic of China
Political party Democratic Progressive Party
Spouse Chan Hsiu-ling
Profession Lawyer

Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌, pinyin: Sū Zhēnchāng; born July 28, 1947) is a Taiwanese politician of the Democratic Progressive Party. He is the former Premier of the Republic of China.[1] Su actively campaigned for the Presidential nomination of the DPP, but finished second to Frank Hsieh in the nomination process.

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[edit] Personal background

Born in Pingtung, Su was a practicing lawyer (1973-1983) educated in the National Taiwan University. He was a defense lawyer in the Kaohsiung Incident trials.[1]

He was previously the magistrate of Pingtung County (1989-1993) and magistrate of Taipei County (1997-2004).[1] His first election as the Taipei magistrate was aided by a split between the New Party and the Kuomintang. His subsequent reelection occurred by a wide margin despite the ability of the Pan-Blue Coalition to present a united candidate. He was Secretary-General (Chief of Staff) to the Office of the President of the Republic of China under President Chen Shui-bian (2004-2005). After President Chen resigned as DPP Chairman following the 2004 legislative elections, he was elected the 10th-term DPP Chairman. Following DPP losses in the 2005 municipal elections on December 3, Su announced that he would, pursuant to a pre-election promise, resign from the chairmanship.

Su is married to Chan Hsiu-ling (詹秀齡) with three daughters.[2]

[edit] Premiership

The Su Tseng-chang Cabinet
OFFICE NAME TERM
Premier Su Tseng-chang 2006 – 2007
Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen 2006 – 2007
Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang 2006 – 2008
Minister of Foreign Affairs James C. F. Huang 2006 – 2008
Minister of National Defense Lee Jye 2006 – 2007
Minister of Finance Joseph Lyu 2006 – 2006
Ho Chih-tsing 2006 – 2008
Minister of Justice Shih Mao-lin 2005 – 2008
Minister of Economic Affairs Morgan Huang 2006 – 2006
Steve Chen 2006 – 2008
Minister of Transportation and Communications Kuo Yao-chi 2006 – 2006
Tsai Tui 2006 – 2008
Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng 2006 – 2008

Su was announced as the new Premier on January 19, 2006 and took his oath of office, along with his cabinet, on January 25, 2006. Soon after, Su announced that if the people's welfare (referring to crime and other civil problems) doesn't improve within 6 months, Su himself will step down.[3] Any improvement to Taiwan's social welfare is yet to be seen.[citation needed] The premier's approval ratings, although higher than Chen Shui-bian, have definitely slipped substantially.

Su was a contender for the DPP nomination in the 2008 presidential election.[4][5] He formally announced his candidacy on Feb. 25. In the DPP primary vote on May 6, 2007, Su received 46,994 votes, coming in second to former Premier Frank Hsieh. Conceding defeat in the primary, Su announced that he had withdrawn from the race. [6]

On May 12, 2007, Su submitted his letter of resignation to President Chen Shui-bian, ending his tenure on May 21. [1] With the resignation of Su and with ten months left in Chen's presidency, that would mean Chen's eight years as President will have seen at least six Premiers (with Chang Chun-Hsiung serving two separate tenures)[2]. Su also stated that he previously submitted resignations numerous times over his sixteen-month tenure, but all were rejected by President Chen. [3]

[edit] 2008 presidential campaign

Su ran for Vice President alongside with Frank Hsieh, who was the DPP Nomination. Together, Su and Hsieh ran against Ma and Siew. On March 22, they lost to Ma and Siew's 7,658,724 (58.45%) votes with their 5,445,239 (41.55 %) votes.

Party Candidate Votes Percentage
President Vice president
Kuomintang Ma Ying-Jeou Vincent Siew 7,659,014 58.45%
Democratic Progressive Party Frank Hsieh Su Tseng-Chang 5,444,949 41.55%
Total 13,103,963 100.00%

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Government offices
Preceded by
Shih Meng-hsiung
Magistrate of Pingtung County
1989-1993
Succeeded by
Wu Tse-yuan
Preceded by
You Ching
Magistrate of Taipei County
1997-2003
Succeeded by
Lin Shi-yao
Preceded by
Frank Hsieh
Premier of the ROC
2006-2007
Succeeded by
Chang Chun-hsiung
Party political offices
Preceded by
Ker Chien-ming (acting)
Chairperson of the DPP
2005
Succeeded by
Annette Lu (acting)